Disclaimer: Still don't own him, please don't sue me.
Distribution: my site, Tango's.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Part two of the Hiss and Purr series. Kat stands her ground.

Steve Austin was a stubborn man, a very stubborn man. And even though Kat didn't want him here, there was no way in hell he was going to walk away from her now. He spent the night in the waiting room, ate bad cafeteria food and waited.
When he saw them walk in, all three of them, he knew they were here for Kat and he knew that the man was Ray Jefferies, the man she'd asked for. The two women in the prissy suits, he had no clue who they were, but when he looked at them more closely, he recognized some features he was familiar with. He stood in the waiting room entrance while the oldest of the two women pulled a legal document from her purse and showed it to the nurse. The nurse snapped to attention and pointed them to Kat's room. Then the man showed his card.
"My name is Ray Jefferies. I'd like to meet with Miss Wild's doctor as soon as possible."
"Yes Mr. Jefferies."
Stephanie came in just then and froze in her tracks when she saw Ray. Now there was a good looking black man if there was one. Six feet three, very short black hair, a goatee, a somewhat wide face, strong features and a gentleness that simply radiated from him. He nodded at her and followed the two women down the hall to Kat's room.
"Was that Ray?" she asked Steve.
"Yep. That was Ray. The guy my girlfriend asked for."
"Steve, she has to have a reason, a good reason..."
"To ask for another man? It'd better be a damn good reason."
"I'm sure it is."

Kat was blindly staring out the window and was about to count the number of bricks on the wall facing her room when the door to her room opened.
When she saw them, all three of them, come into her room, she started to cry again. Jennie immediately dropped her business look and her suitcase and rushed to the bed, bending over to peck Kat's bruised cheek.
"Still haven't figured out how to dodge cars, cousin?"
"No... they don't know the rule," Kat rasped with a watery smile.
"What rule?" Ray asked, gently brushing his lips against hers.
"Don't hit Kat."
The other woman came to stand at the end of Kat's bed and gently touched her leg.
"You wanted to show us off, huh?"
"Well, you all look so..."
Kat's throat went completely dry and she started to cough. Moving quickly, Ray got the glass of water and slid the straw between her lips. She swallowed and waved him away with her bandaged right hand.
"Thank you. I'm sorry."
"So what gives?" Melissa asked, her tone all business, pushing away the emotion that was.
"Well, the cops are coming in later today to talk about the accident. I want you two there. I'm hiring you two to be my lawyers."
"You're getting the family discount, of course," Melissa said, "what with us being cousins and all."
"Thank you. I don't know if or how the cops will find the guy who did this to me but if they do, I want a civil suit brought up against him."
"Kat," said Melissa, "come on..."
"Melissa, the accident caused me to lose a child."
Kat watched as her cousin struggled against the tears that threatened and watched her vigorous nod.
"Okay, Jennie and I are on it."
"Thank you."
"Now," said Ray, "what exactly did they tell you, health wise?"
Halfway through Kat's explanations, the doctor came in and took over. Ray listened carefully and started establishing several plans for Kat's rehab.
"All right Kat," Jennie said, once the doctor was gone, "you didn't quite mention the baby's father in this. Where is he? How is he dealing with this? Does he know?"
"He knows and I broke up with him."
"What?" Melissa asked. "Why? Didn't you love him?"
"Of course I love him. But he deserves more. More than a cripple. He deserves a complete woman. I am not that."
"That is the stupidest thing you've ever said," Ray whispered. "If that man loves you, he won't give two shits about your broken legs and shit. He'll love you."
"What about his baby? I lost his child."
"So what? If he loves you, he'll stand by you, no matter what..."
"I need to be whole again," Kat whispered, turning away from Ray and her cousins. "Steve needs me as a whole woman."
Shaking their heads, Ray led the sisters out of the room.
"She's in a bad way."
"Do you think you can help her?" Melissa asked.
"Yes, of course. I don't know about the hip though, that'll be the hardest."
"Excuse me?"
All three young people turned around and came face to face with Stephanie.
"Hi, my name is Stephanie McMahon. I'm Kat's boss and one of her friends. She hasn't let any of us see her since yesterday and we're wondering how she's doing."
"She's not doing good at all," Ray said. "I don't know how well you know Kat but she's incredibly proud."
"What the hell are you saying boy?" Steve asked, stepping closer.
"Excuse me, but did you just call him boy?" Melissa asked, quickly sizing up the redneck.
"Oh get off the high horse sister. I just want to know what the hell he means when he says Kat's incredibly proud."
"Uh, this is Steve Williams Austin," Stephanie said. "Until last night, Kat and him were seeing each other."
"She told you she didn't want to see you anymore?" Ray asked.
"Something like that."
"I'm not surprised. Kat's-- well, when we were kids, we used to call her a wildcat-- a stupid play on her name, I know. But it fit her, you know. She was wild-- and when she was hurt, she hid, kept out of site until she was all better. Couldn't stand the fact that someone might see her sweat, or suffer."
"But I love her, damn it!"
"It's not a question of love Mr. Austin. It's a question of her pride."
"I think you've told him enough," Melissa said, putting her hand down on Ray's shoulder. "This stuff is private."
"I don't know who the hell you are, little missy, but I'm going to tell ya something and I ain't going to repeat myself. That woman in there, I don't care who the hell she is to you. I love her. I care about her. Right now, she's hurting and I'm hurting for her. And I ain't givin' up on her, no matter what she says."
"Steve," said Jennie, getting up, "my name is Jennie. Kat's our cousin."
"So?"
"So, we care about her too. And I don't think she was right when she pushed you away. But Ray's right. She's proud, it's Wild family trait. Look at my sister. She's the proudest of them all. I'm not saying that my cousin doesn't love you anymore, but right now, she's scared and she feels like a part of her is missing..."
"I'm what's missing," he interrupted her.
"I know that. But Kat doesn't. And until she figures it out, she's going to keep you at arm's length."
"So what the fuck do I do now? Wait some more? I've been waiting for that woman to come back into my life for the past year now. I ain't got that much waiting in me."
"If you really loved her," Melissa said flatly, "you'll wait, no matter how long it takes her."
"I don't like you."
"I don't like you either. My cousin could so much better than you. But she loves you. Lord knows why."
"If she loves me, how come I ain't in there with her?"
No one could answer that.

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